Barack Obama’s 2013 Tear Gas Policy

President Barack Obama aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, La., Sunday, May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

There is a lot of anger directed at President Trump and Border Patrol’s use of tear gas last Sunday. The tear gas was brought in to play to prevent a mob from the Immigrant caravan from breaking through sections of a border fence in California.

“It’s un-American” claim Latin American leaders, immigrant rights advocates and congressional Democrats, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA). “It’s horrifying to see tear gas used on mothers and young children as they seek refuge in the United States. That’s not what America should be,” the senator complained.

What the senator seems to have forgotten is that the policy used by Border Control is an Obama-written policy used in 2013 at the same port of entry, according to the Washington Times. Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Council, “took umbrage at the outrage, questioning where the critics were when tear gas was deployed under Mr. Obama.”

During an interview, a CNN host scoffed at Mr. Judd’s narrative and argued that agents were using tear gas against women and children over the weekend. “The tear gas was not deployed at the children,” Mr. Judd countered, saying migrants were attempting to use them as human shields.

Pepper Spray Used 151X Obama vs. 43X Trump

Border authorities also use another agent, pepper spray, frequently – including a decade-high record of 151 instances in 2013, also under Mr. Obama. Pepper spray, officially known as Pava Capsaicin, was used 43 times in fiscal year 2018, according to the CBP numbers.

Debbie Young

Debbie, editor-in-chief of Richardcyoung.com, has been associate editor of Dick Young’s investment strategy reports for over three decades. When not in Key West, Debbie spends her free time researching and writing in and about Paris and Burgundy, France, cooking on her AGA Cooker, and practicing yoga.